(Jerusalem Post) Amb. Alan Baker - The charges that Israel's military actions against terrorists in Gaza are inhumane and violate international humanitarian law have no basis. They emanate from observers who are totally ignorant of, and unfamiliar with, the international law of armed conflict and international humanitarian law, or who deliberately and knowingly choose to mislead and lie to the international community. Since the military capability of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad is intended solely to destroy Israel, then Israel has the proportionate prerogative and strategic duty under the international law of armed conflict to destroy that military capability. According to international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions, "military targets" include "civilian objects that by their nature, purpose, location, or use make an effective contribution to military action and whose destruction offers a definite military advantage." As is widely known, Hamas places its military infrastructure within the heart of the civilian population in Gaza, including in residential houses, schools, mosques, and businesses. Accordingly, these civilian sites lose their civilian protection and international law permits the direct targeting of such sites as legitimate military targets due to their military use. According to law professor Alan Dershowitz, "Israel is entitled, by any fair reading of international law, to do to Gaza City what the U.S. did to Berlin and Tokyo in 1945. It has warned civilians to leave. The collateral deaths of Palestinian civilians, caused directly by the Hamas decision to use them as human shields, would be the moral, political, and legal responsibility of Hamas." The taking by Hamas of multiple civilian hostages is an inexcusable and flagrant violation of international law as well as of humanitarian norms. The 1979 International Convention against the Taking of Hostages has criminalized the taking of hostages. Since Qatar is party to the convention, it is incumbent on the international community to ensure that Qatar extradites the terrorist leaders whom it now hosts. The writer served as legal adviser and deputy director-general of Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He participated in the negotiation and drafting of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Statute.
2023-10-25 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive